Last night there was a memorial service for Simone Rasper after the young woman was shot and killed at the weekend because of gang fighting. She leaves three children behind and Inspire Elsies Radio was there. No one has been arrested yet.
Pastor Rodnick Ockhuis and CPF Chairperson Hamish Arries says that we need to stand together as a community and keep each other safe.
Deputy Imaam at Siddique Mosque, Moulana Moegammat Arend says that he does not want Elsies River to be known for gang violence, shootings and murders.
Brigadier Hartzenberg from Elsies River SAPS also spoke to the community and encouraged them to step forward with information. He says he was in court and that there is money for people to enter the witness protection program.
On Wednesday approximately 100 people that were squatting at the Three Anchor Bay Tennis Club were removed. The scores of people say now they will just have to squat in other areas in the metro. The Cape Argus spoke to the people and some of them say that they run away from home because they don’t have food or beds there. To live in the township is rough. One lady said that she would rather sleep on the street because at home she won’t have a bed to sleep in and food. Here in Sea Point she gets food at the garage, they give her a loaf of bread every day. She also gets free clothes that she usually sells for money. The Western Cape High Court ordered that the squatters must leave by January 31. They are being offered shelter and social assistance, but they admitted that most of them are on drugs. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says that based on recent engagements conducted by social development officials, many had opted for transitional accommodation. It is vital that public places must be open and available for all. No person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs, while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and social assistance.
While attempting to calm insurgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa has lost two soldiers in a mortar strike on Wednesday in Goma. The SANDF says that a mortar bomb landed inside one of the South African contingent military bases, inflicting casualties and injuries to the SANDF soldiers. As a result of this indirect fire, the SANDF suffered two fatalities and three members sustained injuries. These are the first fatalities since our country deployed 2 900 soldiers in eastern DRC since mid-December. DA's shadow defence minister Kobus Marais says that war and conflict has got little or no relevance to our national security. The government, the commander -in-chief and the minister who have authorised this must carry the consequences. President Cyril Ramaphosa says that as a member of the Southern African Development Community, South Africa had a duty to provide troops. He adds that we dip our heads for those who are injured, and those who may well have fallen.
South Africa can create millions of jobs by relaxing visa requirements according to the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa). Fedhasa National Chairperson Rosemary Anderson says that the country needs a friendlier visa system. Fedhasa calls on the SA government to prioritise digital nomad visas to expand tourism growth. She said that though tourism experiences the same problems that local consumers experience such as crime, load-shedding and insufficient water supply, which negatively affects tourists, changing the country’s visa system could foster economic development and create lots of jobs for the economy. She adds that we just need our other ministers to appreciate that. They can’t do what they do best, and that’s create jobs and add to the economy if they’ve got rules in place which actually stop us from doing it
A female entrepreneur from Ghana has created an electric bike that cleans the air. Problem-solving in Africa can be done in Africa, by Africans. Wahu! - her company assembles each bike by hand. The poor air quality is because of poor roads and exposed dirt means fine-grained dust, this with a lack of rain, the smog, dust, and car exhaust makes the space bad for human health. The bikes were designed and manufactured in Spintex, Accra. According to the Good News Network, Valerie Labi says that by introducing electric bikes into Ghana’s transportation ecosystem, we’re not only providing a greener alternative but also offering speed and convenience. Labi explains that their bikes are a testament to how service delivery can be seamlessly merged with environmental conservation. The bikes are also guaranteed by the company’s proprietary anti-theft system of trackers. Only a single bike has been stolen, and it was quickly located and returned to the owner.
